This invention relates to products, compositions and methods for coloring skin and hair utilizing water soluble quaternized melanin derivatives.
Naturally-occurring melanin is the pigment that gives hair its color. A general discussion of the properties and chemistry of melanins may be found in Prota, G., "Progress In The Chemistry of Melanins And Related Metabolites," Med. Res. Reviews, 8:525-56 (1988) and Moncrieff, R. W., Manufacturing Chemist, XXI, 8, 330-34 (August 1950). The gradual reduction of melanin formation with age causes hair to become gray.
Naturally-occurring melanin pigment itself is unacceptable for use in a hair dye composition because it is easily removed by rinsing or rubbing and leaves the hair feeling rough. In the past, one of the best methods for coloring gray hair involved the use of naturally-occurring melanin precursors (such as 5,6 dihydroxyindole (DHI)) that when combined with an oxidant or a metal salt, forms useful melanin pigments. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,734 (Seemuller et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,190 (Grollier et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,027 (Grollier et al.).
However, the use of these melanin precursors has several disadvantages.
The primary disadvantage is that the pigments produced from melanin precursors provide undesirable achromatic colors (cold grays and blacks). Hair dyed with these colorants must undergo a second treatment step with an oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide to achieve natural chromatic colors (warm yellows, reds, and browns). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,734 (Seemuller et al.). In addition, melanin precursors are expensive and, because they are highly reactive, difficult to work with. The use of melanin precursors also can result in undesirable scalp and skin staining.
Furthermore, because the pigments are formed from the melanin precursors in the hair shaft, the hair colors produced using melanin precursors are permanent. The hair must grow out to return to its original color. Often, consumers prefer to use a temporary hair color that will wash out after one or two shampoos.
The compositions described in PCT patent application Ser. No. US93/11174 filed Nov. 17, 1993 are useful as temporary hair colorants. These compositions contain melanin products which are prepared by forming a complex between a water soluble anionic melanin and selected quaternary compounds, suitably alkyl trimonium halides, alkylalkonium halides or dialkyldimonium halides such as cetrimonium halide or stearalkonium halides. Quaternium-16 and Quaternium-26 are typical commercially available examples of such compounds. These complexes of melanin and the selected quaternary compounds impart a temporary coloring to human hair when deposited thereon in aqueous compositions and thereafter dried. A dye will deposit on the hair to provide a desired color when it is dried by evaporating the water. Although such compositions are acceptable to many consumers, they may not be acceptable to others because they wash off the hair too readily. only rarely do they survive single shampoos. In fact, normally they require a cleave on, treatment since they may be readily removed by even a water rinse.
The art has sought hair coloring compositions which provide colors which are not as difficult to use as the melanin precursors or as permanent, but are more permanent than the colors provided by the above described temporary hair colorants, i.e. dyes which will survive 4 to 6 shampoos or can be mixed with shampoos containing additional dyes in order to freshen temporary hair colors. The hair colorants utilized in the compositions of this invention have these desirable properties.
The compositions of this invention produce in a single treatment step, semi-permanent natural-looking hair color that resist fading in sunlight, resist rub off and resist bleeding in contact with water. The compositions are inexpensive and simple to work with. It has surprisingly been found that aqueous compositions comprising a water soluble quaternized melanin derivative when applied to hair impart a semi-permanent color to the hair which will survive more than three shampoos without loss of color characteristics. A particular advantage of the hair colorants of this invention is that they can be mixed with shampoos containing other hair colorants to freshen the hair color so that the hair color is renewed and retained for an appreciably further period of time. Another is that the products can be used for simultaneous coloring and conditioning of hair. Still another is that the products exhibit the other attributes of natural melanin, i.e. they are antioxidants and free radical scavengers and minimize hair damage caused by oxidants and free radicals often present in the hair after atmospheric exposure.
The products of this invention are also useful for skin care. They may be used alone or, preferably, in conventional skin care compositions. When so employed, they function both as skin colorants to impart a tanned appearance to the treated skin and as sun screen agents to protect the skin from harmful infrared rays.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,331 (Gaskin) discloses the use of a melanin composition containing triethanolamine and ferric chloride. The resultant mixture of melanin, triethanolamine and ferric chloride is said to be useful for skin protection, for wound healing and for strengthening hair. An alternate composition contains trypsin in an alkaline medium. Melanin is present in the skin protectant compositions of Gaskin in an amount of from about 0.001 to about 0.09%, along with from about 0.0001% to about 0.27% ferric chloride, both being on a weight basis based on total weight. The skin protectant composition further contains up to about 5% by weight triethanolamine. While not providing a range of concentration for the amount of melanin hydrolysate for the hair protectant compositions according to her invention, Gaskin states at column 6, line 30 that it is present therein in an amount of only about 0.0015% by weight of the total composition. However, this level of Gaskin's melanin hydrolysate is wholly insufficient to impart a color to hair. Moreover, neither of Gaskin's methods provide a melanin material of a cationic character.
PCT Application WO 91/17738 discloses the use of soluble melanin derivatives in a process for producing lightly colored melanins that are aesthetically suitable for use in cosmetic compositions.
WO 94/25532 describes melanin linked to a lipid to form a lipomelanin and its use in a sunscreen product.
It is an object of this invention to provide aqueous compositions for semi-permanently coloring hair using water soluble melanin derivatives.
It is also an object of this invention to provide compositions that will produce a semi-permanent natural-looking hair color that resists fading in sunlight, will not rub off, and will not bleed when in contact with water.
It is further an object of this invention to provide inexpensive compositions for semi-permanently coloring hair using water soluble melanin derivatives.
It is also an object of this invention to provide compositions that are simple to work with for semi-permanently coloring hair using water soluble melanin derivatives.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a one-step process for semi-permanently coloring hair.
It is a further object of this invention to provide compositions for simultaneously coloring and conditioning hair.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide compositions which when used with appropriate shampoos are useful for freshening hair colors.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide products and compositions useful for skin care.
In one aspect of this invention, an aqueous composition is provided for semi-permanently coloring hair comprising a cationic quaternized melanin derivative. Processes for coloring hair are also provided.